# Academic writing in Mandarin at Chinese universities: the thesis

**How do you write a thesis (学位论文) in Mandarin at a Chinese university?** Academic writing in Mandarin at Chinese universities follows each university's thesis rules, built on the national standard GB/T 7713.1. A 学位论文 runs from cover and originality declaration through abstracts in Mandarin and English to the body, references and acknowledgements. Master's theses often need 30,000 characters, a similarity check decides who may defend, and AI use must be declared.

Published 2026-09-26 by EdCitation. https://edcitation.com/newsletter/academic-writing-in-chinese

Academic writing in Mandarin at Chinese universities is governed by each university's own thesis rules, which rest on a national standard for how a 学位论文 (a bachelor's, master's or doctoral thesis) is laid out. The rules agree on the parts and the signed declarations, and differ on abstract length, on where the acknowledgements go and, most sharply, on AI. EdCitation publishes this guide. Every rule below was read in Mandarin at source on 26 September 2026, and every translation is ours.

We read the national standard, the Ministry of Education's rules and those of eleven universities and institutes in mainland China, with Taiwan and Hong Kong where they differ. The reference list is covered in [GB/T 7714](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/chinese-gb-t-7714-citation-style); the German and French counterparts are [academic writing in German](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/academic-writing-in-german) and [in French](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/academic-writing-in-french). EdCitation's free [Check your paper](https://edcitation.com/check) reads a brief into a checklist, in English only so far, and [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) checks a Mandarin reference list; our tests of both are at the end.

## Which standard sets out a Chinese thesis?

GB/T 7713.1, the national standard for presenting theses. The 2006 edition, 学位论文编写规则, was replaced on 1 February 2026 by GB/T 7713.1-2025, 信息与文献 编写规则 第1部分：学位论文; the national standards platform lists the 2025 edition as 现行 (in force) and the 2006 edition as 废止 (withdrawn) (State Administration for Market Regulation & Standardization Administration of China, 2025).

### What could not be read

The official platform shows neither text: the standard adopts an international one (ISO 7144), and copyright, it says, prevents it offering the text. We read the 2006 text in the scan Renmin University of China (2023) posts for its students. The 2025 text is sold and we did not buy it, so what changed in 2025 could not be confirmed; the university rules we read, from early 2025, still name 2006.

### What the 2006 standard says a thesis is

A bachelor's thesis shows a "初步能力" (a first ability) for research, a master's "新的见解" (new insight), a doctorate "创造性的成果" (creative results). It is written in simplified characters, in Mandarin or English, with its title in both.

## What are the parts of a 学位论文, and in what order?

The same core in every rule we read: cover, declarations, abstracts in Mandarin and English, contents, body, references, appendices, acknowledgements. The order and the numbers differ, and your university's template decides.

| Part | GB/T 7713.1-2006 | Beijing Normal (2025) | Tsinghua (2025) | NTU, Taiwan (2023) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 封面 (cover) | Optional; the title page is required. Title generally at most 25 characters | Mandarin and English covers; title generally at most 25 characters | Title "严格控制在25个汉字" (strictly within 25 characters) | Cover and a title page |
| 原创性声明 and 使用授权书 (originality declaration, use licence) | Optional second cover page with use and copyright statements, signed by author and supervisor | Both, straight after the cover, from the template | Use licence at the front; copyright declaration signed after the acknowledgements | Only an oral-examination approval certificate is listed |
| 摘要 (abstract) | 300 to 600 characters; about 300 content words in the foreign language | About 2,000 characters (doctoral), 1,000 (master's) | 800 to 1,000 characters, one page | At most three pages each |
| 关键词 (keywords) | 3 to 8, with English ones | 3 to 8, commas | At most 5, semicolons | 5 to 7 |
| 目录 (contents) | After any preface | Chapter, section and page | To the second-level heading, generated automatically | Contents, then lists of figures and tables |
| 正文 (body) | From 引言 (introduction) to conclusion; each chapter on a new page | The same | The introduction holds the literature review | Mandarin or English |
| 参考文献 (references) | Its own part | GB/T 7714-2015, one system, no uncited works | GB/T 7714-2015 | Author, year, title, pages |
| 致谢 (acknowledgements) | Before the abstract | Near the end | After the appendices, one page | At the front, optional, one page |
| Checking the list | [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) looks each entry up, free | | | |

Beijing Normal University (2025) adds a list of the degree's research outputs, and a thesis in English must carry a Mandarin abstract of about 3,000 characters. Tsinghua University (2025) binds the supervisor's report and the defence resolution in at the end. English conventions: [dissertation abstract](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/dissertation-abstract) and [front matter](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/acknowledgements-dedication-and-front-matter).

### The declarations

The 原创性声明 states that the thesis is your own work, every borrowing marked; the 使用授权书 lets the university keep and lend it. Tsinghua asks you to check the thesis against copyright law first and "慎重签名" (sign with care). In Taiwan, every master's and doctoral thesis is deposited with the National Central Library (Legislative Yuan, 2018).

### What the body should do

Tsinghua's introduction has five parts: problem, background and significance, literature review, method, structure. The review must judge as well as report: "'述'的同时一定要有'评'". And claim "首次", "领先" or "填补空白" (first, leading, filling a gap) only with evidence.

## How long is a Chinese thesis, and how is it formatted?

Length is counted in characters (字), not words. The figures we could read:

| Rule (level) | Length | Type and spacing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sun Yat-sen University (bachelor's) | Body generally at least 8,000 characters; the department decides | Not stated |
| UCAS, via its Kunming Institute of Zoology (master's) | Body at least 30,000 characters | University template |
| UCAS, same notice (doctoral) | Body at least 50,000 characters | University template |
| Beijing Normal University (all graduate) | Not stated | SimSun 小四 (12 pt), fixed 20 pt line spacing, margins 2.54 cm top and bottom, 3.17 cm sides |
| Tsinghua University (all graduate) | Not stated | SimSun 12 pt, fixed 20 pt spacing, 3 cm margins |
| National Taiwan University (master's and doctoral) | Not stated | 12 pt, 1.5 spacing in Mandarin and double in English; margins 3 cm top, 2 cm bottom, 3 cm sides |
| Your own rules | Paste an English version into [Check your paper](https://edcitation.com/check) for a checklist | |

Sun Yat-sen University (2023) leaves the rest to departments. The Kunming Institute of Zoology (2023), repeating the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences figures, adds that two "major revision" blind reviews, or one "do not defend", stop that round's defence.

## What goes in the 开题报告 and 文献综述?

The 开题报告 is the thesis proposal, defended before a panel; the 文献综述 is the literature review written with it. The schools we read set minimums:

1. **Review the literature.** North China Electric Power University's economics school wants at least 5,000 characters for a master's and 10,000 for a doctorate (North China Electric Power University, 2018); Beihang's mathematics school, 10,000 characters from at least 30 works, 10 in a foreign language (Beihang University, 2021). EdCitation's [Find sources](https://edcitation.com/) searches about 300 million published works, Mandarin titles included.
2. **Write the proposal**, at least 5,000 characters without figures in the economics school.
3. **Defend it.** Beihang gives each master's student at least 20 minutes, marked 优, 良, 中 or 不及格 (excellent, good, fair, fail); a fair passes, with written answers and a revised proposal.
4. **Check the reading list** with [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) before it grows into the thesis.

In English: [how to write a research proposal](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/how-to-write-a-research-proposal).

## How does 查重, the similarity check, work?

Your university runs the thesis through a similarity system it chooses, and the percentage decides whether it goes on to review. Fudan University (2017) sets a floor for graduate degrees: at most 10% copied text, quoted references excluded, goes to review; from 10% to 20% the department's experts decide, and a cleared thesis may be revised and rechecked; at 20% or more a degree subcommittee decides whether it is misconduct, and if not, graduation is deferred for at least three months of revision. Departments may be stricter.

### Two checks, and now AI as well

China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) (2025) checks every graduate thesis twice, before blind review and after the defence, body, acknowledgements and appendices included. It now runs an AIGC check too, and both results are an "重要参考依据" (important reference) when the degree is decided.

Fudan calls the check "辅助性的技术手段" (an auxiliary technical means) that cannot replace the examiners' judgement. See [what similarity percentage is acceptable](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/what-similarity-percentage-is-acceptable). EdCitation's [Check plagiarism](https://edcitation.com/tools/check-plagiarism) (Pro, $8 a month, on credits) shows you privately which passages match published or web text, with each source. It is not your university's check and promises nothing about it: read it as a list of places to cite.

## What does the Ministry of Education count as misconduct?

Buying, selling or ghostwriting a thesis, plagiarism and fabricated data. The Ministry of Education (2012) lets a university cancel the application or revoke the degree, publish the decision, refuse a new application for at least three years and expel an enrolled student. Its 2016 rules add falsified sources, false authorship and "买卖论文、由他人代写" (buying papers or having them ghostwritten) (Ministry of Education, 2016).

The Degree Law, in force since 1 January 2025, withholds or revokes a degree when the thesis involves "代写、剽窃、伪造" (ghostwriting, plagiarism, fabrication) (Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, 2024). The law as passed does not mention AI.

### Taiwan

Taiwan's Degree Conferral Act revokes a degree for a thesis fabricated, plagiarised or "由他人代寫" (written by someone else), and fines anyone who advertises or does ghostwriting NT$300,000 to NT$1,000,000.

## What are the AI rules for theses at Chinese universities?

AI may assist; it may not write the argument, and its use must be declared. A national reference now exists: a guide issued in May 2026 by the Chinese Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Association (2026) at the Ministry of Education's request, which universities have passed on. They still disagree about polishing.

### The national guide

AI may help find information, organise material, prompt ideas, process data and assist expression, but "核心论点和创新贡献须由学位申请人提出并完成" (the core arguments and original contributions must come from the candidate). Each thesis carries an "人工智能使用声明" (statement of AI use): tool, version, website, purpose, stage, settings and how the output was checked. The defence should include questions on it.

### How the universities differ

- **Undergraduate, strict.** Fudan University (2024) allows AI, with the supervisor's consent, for literature searches and reference formatting, and bans it for research design, data, result images and the text itself: "禁止使用AI工具进行语言润色和翻译" (AI may not be used to polish or translate).
- **Graduate, language allowed.** China Agricultural University (2025) permits "文献检索、语言规范" (literature searching, language standards), never methods, conclusions or new ideas, declared with tool, version and date.
- **A percentage.** Guangdong University of Finance and Economics (2025) warns any graduate thesis scoring over 40% on its AIGC check; it is revised and defended only with the supervisor's consent.
- **Taiwan.** National Taiwan Normal University's social work institute (2025) allows "文章潤飾" (polishing), marked in drafts shown to the supervisor.
- **Hong Kong.** The University of Hong Kong (2025) calls language editing and translation "generally acceptable", declared at submission.

A model statement in English: [how to declare AI use in an assignment](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/how-to-declare-ai-use-in-an-assignment).

## Which EdCitation tools help with a thesis in Mandarin?

Verify references and Find sources work on Mandarin literature; Check your paper reads English instructions only, and Cite a source builds six English-language styles. EdCitation is the best tool for checking a Mandarin reference list against the records, because it looks each entry up and never writes one, which no chatbot can do. EdCitation never writes any part of a student's paper.

### Check your paper reads English instructions only

We pasted Beijing Normal University's rules on abstract, keywords, page setup, type and references (405 characters, in Mandarin) into [Check your paper](https://edcitation.com/check). It returned one rule, Font "Times New Roman", from the clause for English text; SimSun, margins, spacing, abstract lengths and keywords were missed, and nothing was listed as set aside. Our English translation returned two rules, Font Times New Roman and Font size 12 pt, and set six sentences aside for you to check, among them the page setup as "Margins that differ by side" and the fixed 20-point spacing as "Line spacing in points". SimSun, the abstract lengths, the keywords and the reference system were missed. Translate first, then check each rule against its quoted sentence. Judging the thesis against its rules is Theoretics QA, in Max at $24 a month.

### Verify references on a Mandarin list

We pasted five real entries in GB/T 7714 form into [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references). A 2015 article in 科学通报 with its DOI came back verified: "The DOI resolves to this record and the title matches." So did a 2026 article by 刘文丽 and 李威 with its DOI. The Ministry's 2012 order, given with its web address, verified: "The page is at this address, and its title matches." The same 2015 article without its DOI, and GB/T 7713.1-2006, came back "could not check": "This entry is written in characters the search cannot match yet." Neither was called not found. But the 2015 article's record names its author "Virginia", plus a second author "Ba", so the APA entry offered began "Virginia B., & Ba rbour." A record can itself be wrong; see [how to check a reference is real](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/how-to-check-a-reference-is-real).

### Find sources in Mandarin

[Find sources](https://edcitation.com/) took "学位论文 学术不端" (thesis, academic misconduct) and reported 621,167 Crossref records. Second came 刘文丽 and 李威's 2026 study of misconduct procedures at twelve Hubei universities under the Degree Law; third, a 2026 essay about a weeping willow. Some names were shown given name first, as "留群 钟". Read each result before you cite it.

### Cite a source builds six English styles

[Cite a source](https://edcitation.com/cite) builds APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver; it does not build GB/T 7714 yet. An entry is only as full as its record: the APA entry offered for the 2026 article gave pages but no volume or issue.

## Quick questions

### How long is a master's thesis in China?

Often at least 30,000 characters in the body, and 50,000 for a doctorate, as the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences sets them. Your graduate school's rules decide.

### Does a thesis in Mandarin need an English abstract?

Yes, in every rule we read. Beijing Normal University also requires a thesis written in English to carry a Mandarin abstract of about 3,000 characters.

### Can I use AI to polish a thesis at a Chinese university?

It depends on the university. Fudan bans AI polishing and translation in bachelor's theses; China Agricultural University and the University of Hong Kong allow language help if it is declared.

### What similarity percentage do Chinese universities accept?

Each sets its own. At Fudan a graduate thesis at or under 10% goes to review, 10% to 20% goes to experts, and 20% or more goes to a degree subcommittee.

### Will EdCitation check a Mandarin reference list?

Yes, free. EdCitation's [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) verified three of five Mandarin entries in our test; the two written only in characters came back "could not check", never "not found".

## References

- Beihang University. (2021). *[Notice on master's thesis proposal defences]* [PDF]. School of Mathematical Sciences. [https://math.buaa.edu.cn/__local/2/A8/31/D3BAC62D1ECCBE9DC4AA3A26C06_D6DE865B_154CA.pdf](https://math.buaa.edu.cn/__local/2/A8/31/D3BAC62D1ECCBE9DC4AA3A26C06_D6DE865B_154CA.pdf)
- Beijing Normal University. (2025). *研究生学位论文编写规则* [Rules for writing graduate theses] [PDF]. Office of the Academic Degrees Evaluation Committee. [http://ss.graduate.bnu.edu.cn/core/ucontent/FmFile/r_xw_dbcl?attname=wj&attvalue=%2F2025%2F20250117-163710-107774-f8383f.pdf](http://ss.graduate.bnu.edu.cn/core/ucontent/FmFile/r_xw_dbcl?attname=wj&attvalue=%2F2025%2F20250117-163710-107774-f8383f.pdf)
- China Agricultural University. (2025, April 7). *关于我校研究生在学位论文或申请学位实践成果中合理使用生成式人工智能的诚信提醒* [Integrity reminder on the proper use of generative AI in graduate theses]. Graduate School. [https://gradsch1.cau.edu.cn/art/2025/4/7/art_53277_1064105.html](https://gradsch1.cau.edu.cn/art/2025/4/7/art_53277_1064105.html)
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- Chinese Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Association. (2026). *规范研究生学位论文与实践成果中人工智能工具使用指南* [Guide to the use of AI tools in graduate theses and practice outputs] [PDF]. Posted by the Graduate School, University of Science and Technology of China. [https://gradschool.ustc.edu.cn/static/upload/article/file/1779088544462/1779088544462-671405.pdf](https://gradschool.ustc.edu.cn/static/upload/article/file/1779088544462/1779088544462-671405.pdf)
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- Sun Yat-sen University. (2023, September 21). *【毕业论文】毕业论文的撰写要求是？毕业论文的字数要求是？* [Graduation theses: writing and length requirements]. Office of Academic Affairs. [https://jwb.sysu.edu.cn/article/2632](https://jwb.sysu.edu.cn/article/2632)
- Tsinghua University. (2025). *研究生学位论文写作指南* [Guide to writing graduate theses] [PDF]. Graduate School. [https://www.dhs.tsinghua.edu.cn/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2025032107444819.pdf](https://www.dhs.tsinghua.edu.cn/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2025032107444819.pdf)
- University of Hong Kong. (2025). *Guidelines on the responsible use of generative AI in research* [PDF]. Research Services. [https://www.rss.hku.hk/research-integrity/GenAI-research-guidelines.pdf](https://www.rss.hku.hk/research-integrity/GenAI-research-guidelines.pdf)